POTENTIAL AMELIORATORS OF AFLATOXICOSIS IN WEANLING GROWING SWINE

Three trials using 207 crossbred pigs were conducted to evaluate the effects of aflatoxin-contaminated corn on young pigs and to determine whether several nutritional and nonnutritional dietary amendments would benefit performance or health in situations of aflatoxin B1 contamination. In Trial 1 using 90 pigs in a 49-d trial, linear (P < .01) and quadratic (P < .05) decreases in ADG were observed with increasing (0, 420, 840 ppb) dietary aflatoxin level. This growth decrease was associated with linear reductions (P < .01) in ADFI and decreases in gain/feed. Serum indicators of protein synthetic capabilities and of liver damage were also adversely affected. Improvements in growth rate for the total trial period in the presence of 840 ppb of aflatoxin were obtained with the addition of the 2 ppm of folic acid ( P < .05) or .5% hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCA) (P < .01); the magnitude of improvement was greater for the HSCA. The addition of HSCA to the contaminated diet also restored the serum clinical chemistry profile to that exhibited by pigs fed the diet without contaminated corn. The addition of .6 ppm of Se to a basal diet containing .3 ppm of Se was generally without effect. In Trial 2, 63 pigs were used in a 42-d trial to further assess the effectiveness of both folic acid and HSCA, as well as of two sodium bentonites, in reducing the effects of aflatoxin from naturally contaminated diets (800 ppb of aflatoxin). Folic acid had no positive effect in this trial, but HSCA improved ADG (P < .01) and all clinical chemistry indicators that had been negatively affected by the contaminated diet (P < .05). Both sodium bentonites provided as much improvement in ADG (P < .01) as the HSCA and also improved all clinical chemistry indicators that had been adversely affected by the aflatoxin (P < .05). In Trial 3 using 54 pigs in a 42-d trial, linear (P < .05) and quadratic (P < .025) improvements in ADG and ADFI and linear (P < .05) improvements in those serum clinical chemistry indicators adversely affected by the contaminated diet were observed with additions of .25, .50, and .75% sodium bentonite to a diet naturally contaminated with 800 ppb of aflatoxin. There was no benefit to including more than .50% sodium bentonite to the contaminated diet. In situations of aflatoxin contamination, dietary alterations or additions can be made to diminish the adverse effects of aflatoxin.